Roadside anglers ask: 'Who needs a boat?’

Sunday

A tasty speckled trout might think heís safe creeping into a spot where a bayou laps next to a highway, beyond the reach of hooks attached to eager anglers in boats.

But -- splash! -- that trout often discovers too late that thereís no hiding place here, as heís yanked from the water by a happy fisherman parked in a lawn chair on the bayouside.

With so many delicious species swimming the mass of local waterways, fishing reigns as the sport of choice in south Louisiana.

And the lack of a boat isnít going to stop a hungry fisherman on the hunt.

"People love to fish, period," said outdoor writer and fisherman Jerry LaBella. "Theyíll fish any kindaí way they can." South Louisiana residents without boats -- "theyíll find out where the fish are from the road," he said. "Theyíre very, very skilled at what they do."

A guy perched on an upside-down, five-gallon bucket and gripping an 8-foot cane pole might draw smirks from passers-by, but "that guy knows what the hell heís doing," LaBella contends.

Local roadside anglers, interviewed at random last week, gave various reasons for dropping lines from road shoulders. Some stated the obvious reason -- they have no boat. A few elderly folks said they can no longer get in and out of a boat. Others just enjoy the simplicity of pulling up to a spot along the highway and casting a line moments later, with no lifejackets, costly gasoline, boat maintenance or cleanup to distract from the fun.

"Itís a good pastime, and itís not far from the house," said Wilfred Ledet of Chauvin as he reeled a large blue crab in from Bayou Little Caillou.

The 69-year-old said he fishes nearly every day, pedaling his three-wheeled bicycle over to the bayouside where, from a lawn chair, he snags catfish, perch, sheepshead and an occasional red fish.

"I usually do better than that," Ledet said Wednesday, as a pile of small catfish gulped for air in a bucket propped into the basket on his bike. Ledet, a self-described "catfish man," sometimes shares his roadside catch with family members.

"Itís more fun on the side of the road," said Joyce Gage of Thibodaux, as she and her sister, Cindy James, scoured another portion of Bayou Little Caillou for perch and catfish.

Gageís 5-year-old grandson, Kentrell Pharagood, stood next to her, showing off the large red fish he caught at Boudreaux Canal earlier in the day. Gageís 10-year-old niece, Tareneka Johnson, gave a sheepish grin as her aunt described how the young girl hurled a fishing pole in the water, panicked at the sight of a crab reeled in a little too close to her feet.

Fishing has the opposite effect on Gage.

"It calms your nerves," she said.

Gage used to accompany her late husband on boating trips, but now wreaks havoc on the perch from the roadway.

"Fishing is good over here," said the 55-year-old Gage, who hits the bayou several times a week.

"I like fishing from the road better," agreed the 35-year-old James, explaining that she doesnít have to wear a lifejacket on the roadside. And if the fish falls off the hook, you can just pick it up, she said.

While not as popular as fishing from a boat, roadside fishing attracts a sturdy number of anglers to local waterways on a regular basis, said Vince Guillory, biologist manager for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, and David Bourgeois, fisheries agent for the LSU AgCenter.

"Not everybody has a boat or access to a boat," Bourgeois said.

"We donít own a boat, and itís hard to find somebody with a boat," agreed Lorinda Sevin, 27, of Chauvin, who sat beneath the shade of a tree watching her two sons and their friends catch fish and crabs from Bayou Little Caillou.

Clarence and Betty Pellegrin of Montegut said they can frequently be spotted sitting on ice chests, pulling fish from Robinson Canal or Pointe-aux-Chenes waters.

"I just enjoy it," said the 77-year-old Clarence Pellegrin, whose doctor warned him against getting in boats with his bad leg.

Roadside fishermen can catch any fish caught in boats in inshore waters; the same fish rule as the most frequently caught game for both roadside and boat fishing: trout, red drum, black drum, sheepshead and flounder, according to Guillory and Bourgeois.

The most commonly caught freshwater fish, found farther up the bayous, include perch, catfish and bass, Bourgeois said.

"Thatís all we ever did was go on the bayou and fish," said Lionel Ellis, 53, of Schriever, as he fished along North Hollywood Road in Houma.

Ellisí fishing buddy, David Campbell, 50, of Schriever said he works offshore, but spends much of his onshore time fishing.

"I have a lot of fun fishing," he said, itís relaxing.

Fishing from the road doesnít offer the mobility of fishing from a boat, but does have its advantages.

"Itís much cheaper," Guillory said.

Besides little to no gas costs, roadside fishermen avoid the major expense of operating and maintaining a boat, and they escape the hassle of preparing and cleaning boat gear.

"You just get up and go," Guillory said.

Staying onshore also can be profitable catch-wise, LaBella said.

The avid fisherman said heís seen boaters return to shore with empty ice chests, while people fishing alongside the roads, the ones boaters traveled to get to the boat launch, caught nonstop.

LaBella himself has sat in a boat, catching nothing as he watched a man seated on a bucket onshore reel them in.

In some places, like certain spots along La. 1, the roadway actually offers access to marshy areas or tidal movements that most boats would have trouble reaching, he said. Those places serve as breeding grounds for all kinds of good-tasting fish, LaBella said.

"Sometimes by the road is more productive than going way out of your way in a boat," he said.

Sevin said she finally took her 4-year-old son, James, fishing on the bayouside last week after lots of talk about a fishing trip.

"He thinks heís a big boy," she said, as the tiny, blonde-haired boy flung his line into the water.

James Sevin got up Wednesday morning determined to try out his motherís fishing pole, receiving repeated warnings not to lose it to the bayou.

"That was my very first fishing pole," Lorinda Sevin said.

As Johnathan Sevin strolled into the water to unhook a friendís line, James Sevin screeched, "You better move!," preparing to cast toward his brother, then "Wannaí see how I do it? John, wannaí see how I do it? Watch, yíall! Watch John!"

Looks like more fish are in trouble.

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